How to Write the History of an American Jewish Community Page: 15
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no absolute need for you to report this fact-unless your
conscience compels you to tell the whole truth.)
More important cases that were referred to courts of ap-
pellate jurisdiction, and even to the United States Supreme
Court, have been published. These records have been very
carefully indexed, and any lawyer can either dig them out
for you or teach you, in a relatively short time, how to find
the material yourself. More than once the children of pio-
neers disagreed as to the disposal of the family property
and brought their problems to a superior court where the
printed record, though not always edifying, is nevertheless
very instructive. Only too often, groups within a synagogue
went to law, for petty or for very important reasons. For
instance, when the Charleston, South Carolina, Temple
Beth Elohim became a Reform congregation, it was in-
volved in court litigation with the Orthodox members. The
record of that historically illuminating suit is available in any
good law library.
Tax lists, which are nearly always available, are among
our most important sources. They tell you when people
came to town, how much money they made or lost. By
comparing the taxes the Jews paid with those paid by non-
Jews you can determine the degree of success which Jews at-
tained in the general community.
The Board of Education in your town may have some
of the old public school records going back for years. If you
have time and the necessary assistance, it may pay you to go
through those papers. They will tell you who went to school,
how long they went, and how well they did. The absentee
lists on the high holy days in the fall should be very sug-
gestive. In the first place, they will more or less indicate who
were Jews, and they will also give you some picture of how
religiously observant the Jewish community was.-15 -
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Marcus, Jacob Rader, 1896-1995. How to Write the History of an American Jewish Community, pamphlet, 1964; Cincinnati, Ohio. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1436803/m1/17/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rosenberg Library.